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2012 was a very jittery year — what with the presidential election, extreme weather events and the looming "fiscal cliff." Fresh Air critic Maureen Corrigan found that her favorite fiction and nonfiction this year directly confronted the atmospheric uncertainty of the age.

Romance author Eloisa James picks five sweet summer reads that turn trauma into romantic triumph. Whether you've been jilted at the altar, humiliated in the school paper or just plain rejected, James says you'll find these books "as healing as ice cream."

In softcover nonfiction, Daniel Smith explores his anxiety, and Mark Bowden looks at the killing of Osama bin Laden. In fiction, Pablo Medina follows a boy caring for his aging, Cuban-American parents, and Jean Zimmerman tracks a 17th-century investigation into the disappearance of orphan children.

In softcover nonfiction, Jenny Rosenstrach examines dinnertime, Kate Summerscale recounts a scandalous Victorian trial, and John Dramani Mahama looks back on his childhood in Ghana. In fiction, Victor Davis Hanson reimagines an ancient battle, and Marie NDiaye follows three women from Senegal to Europe.

Vacations are where we do some of our most serious thinking, but when it comes to summer reading, we often reach for mindless reads. This year, beautifully written memoirs — about unspeakable loss, motherhood and the process of healing — offer substantial stories that tear at the heart.

When's the last time you read a comic book? Here are five for summer, covering everything from tiny Finnish critters to Viennese punk rockers and musings on Anna Wintour. Writer Myla Goldberg says they represent a golden age in comic art.

In softcover fiction, Mark Helprin sets a romance against the backdrop of midcentury New York, and Ian Frazier presents the journals of a mother who swears an extremely blue streak. In softcover nonfiction, Yael Kohen collects an oral history of women in comedy, and Jon Ronson gathers some funny stories of his own.

In softcover fiction, Will Self spelunks the depths of consciousness in a mental hospital; Amity Gaige divulges an East German immigrant's secrets; Cristina Garcia defines the space that separates a dictator from an exile; and Ayana Mathis follows the life of a mother during the Great Migration.

Do recent events have you wishing for more insight into Syria? Critic Marcela Valdes — with some help from experts on the region — recommends five great reads. From the diaries of a threatened novelist to a study of Syrian lingerie, these books reveal new facets of a complex country.

In softcover fiction, Ellen Meister resurrects a literary icon, Ryan McIlvain sends elders door to door, and William H. Gass strikes the key to an identity crisis. In nonfiction, Monte Reel tells of the Victorian who chased after gorillas, and Bill Streever explores the thermometer's upper frontiers.